The Hanging Tree
by Hi10000000
Summary: Kenshin is taken away, and Tomoe searches desperately. And the wind and the birds sing: "Are you, are you, coming to the tree..." On hiatus because I am lazy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: My first crossover. AU. Kenshin is taken away, and Tomoe searches desperately.**

**Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki. The Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

Tomoe stumbled through the snowy forest, her breath coming in short gasps and condensing in the air. Her heart pounded and her sides hurt. Her ragged breathing echoed in her ears. But she must keep running, she knew. She must keep searching. For if she didn't find him, he would be lost to her forever.

Tomoe looked ahead, and saw branches snapped, fallen snow churned up, and a deep gouge in the trunk of a tree. Signs of a struggle. So she forced her legs to move faster, faster, faster to reach wherever they had taken him.

Tomoe ran, chasing them, them who had taken her husband away.

She remembered how they struck. Not directly, for no one could defeat her husband in battle. They had been subtle, working in the shadows, weaving detailed plans. They had not let their arrival be known, and had hid in the darkness, creating plots for revenge, for capture of their enemy. They were serpents, all of them, serpents whose minds were corrupted with evil and power. And serpents never attacked with only strength. They used poison.

Poison.

Somehow, they had drugged Tomoe's and her husband's water source. And somehow, her husband had not noticed, and had drank the water. But she hadn't been thirsty, and did not. So when her husband collapsed hours later, she did not. But she could only watch, frozen in shock, as they leapt out of the bushes and dragged him away.

But they had not bothered to deal with her, thinking that she was weak, so now she followed them. Now Tomoe ran after them, following the obvious signs they had left behind. And she would find them, she would catch them, and she would bring her husband back home.

The signs grew more frequent now. All the branches ahead were snapped, trampled into the ground. The trees all had deep gouges in their trunks, gouges made by a sword swung around wildly. And all the snow was churned up, tossed aside by struggling bodies. They had been this way, she just knew it, and she ran on. Hope had began to rise into the sky, and she chased after it, the only light in a seemingly dark tunnel.

She knew they had been this way, she just knew it. So she ran faster, faster. Although her lungs ached and clumps of snow still managed to drag her feet, she ran on, for she knew that her husband would be near. Hope lit up the sky now, and hope lit up her soul, and she felt it warm her body like the sun's rays. Hope shone in her eyes, hope of finding her husband, of rebuilding her happiness. But she shivered, for the cold around her was too cold, and the silence too eerie.

The snowy forest was suddenly still. Too quiet. The air seemed to crackle with tension, and nervousness gripped her heart. Something was wrong, she could feel it. Something had gone astray. The hope in the sky began to fade replaced by growing dread spreading dark tendrils across her heart.

Tomoe looked around, suspicious. The forest around her seemed too familiar. _It couldn't be! _But she realized that she recognized everything around her, almost as if it was her home.

It was.

The forest had began to thin out, the snow-laden trees being replaced by frozen grass blades. Ahead, Tomoe could see the cottage that she and her husband lived in. Beyond it, the road to the village stretched. The door to her home was wide open, left open by herself during her desperate chase. Tomoe could see her own footprints in the snow, leading from the doorway into the forest. Confusion filled her mind. _What? How did I end up coming back to the place I started? I followed all the signs._

The she realized. They had tricked her. They had laden an obvious false trail, one that she would easily fall for. And it had circled back towards her home, where she had started, so she could never find them. Truly, they had vanished, taking her husband with them, and he was gone from her life forever. She had followed the signs, but they were all fake, a false trail, and now she would never find her husband. She collapsed onto the snow, and angry tears fell from her eyes.

Her husband was gone.

How could those bastards take him away from her? How could they? Cold sorrow spread from her heart into her eyes, leaking out in the form of tears. How could they? They had torn apart her life, taking the only one she loved, forcing her to be alone, so alone. For a brief moment, when she was following their trail, she had tasted hope, hope of finding he husband, hope of rebuilding her happiness, but it was gone now, snatched away from her. Tomoe's happiness, brief, but full and bright, it was put out now, blown away, a candle flame blown out by the cold winter winds.

Her husband was gone.

Tomoe got up and staggered towards her cottage, stumbling over the clumps of snow. But the sorrow in her heart dragged her down, and she fell again, this time on a hard patch of earth. There, she could only cry, cry at what she had lost, cry at the sorrow spreading through her soul, locking her in the cold of winter. Tears fell from her eyes, unstoppable, and she let the sorrow spread through the rest of her soul, consuming her in its cold. Snow began to fall from the sky, staining the world white, and snow fell in her soul, too, covering the vast emptiness in her heart with layers of cold.

Her husband was gone.

A light wind blew around the falling snow, carrying it, scattering it. It was soft, like a dove's touch, but it echoed with emotions unsaid. Tomoe sat up and felt it tugging at her hair, whispering quietly in her ear. Even the wind was quiet, quiet like the snow, and even the wind seemed broken, hollow. The falling snow fell in patterns, seeming to form his face, and even the wind whispered his name.

_Kenshin._

The wind's whispering grew more frequent, louder and louder. It bore into her mind, her very soul, and longing filled her heart, longing for his warmth. Half-delusional, she reached out with trembling fingers, but they only found air, cold, cold air with not a hint of warmth, of hope. There was nothing around her, nothing left for her, nothing but the cold of winter, chilling her body, her mind. Yet she could feel his warmth, dancing out of her reach like a flickering flame, and she reached for it once more. But it faded from her mind, leaving her empty, hollow. It faded away from her heart, her soul, gone, forever. All her precious memories of him, they all began to fade with it, and it seemed that he was not only wiped off the face of the earth, but wiped off her mind, too. He was fading away, fading away forever, and she would lose it all.

"Kenshin!" She snapped, and screamed in despair. She screamed, and grief echoed in her voice, heart-wrenching grief unable to be contained by the soul anymore. She screamed it all out, all her loss, her sorrow, the cold that fell in her soul like snow. She screamed it all, but his warmth would not return, for he was gone.

Gone.

"Where are you?! Kenshin!"

By miracle, a raven flew from the forest and towards her, a black shape in the unbroken expanse of white. Then it opened its beak, and began to sing.

**A/N: I know that ravens don't sing. Which is why this is a supernatural fic.**


	2. Chapter 2

_"…If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."_

The cold sorrow in her heart retracted a little, and Tomoe looked up, shocked. The raven sat perfectly still, then opened its beak and repeated its melody.

_"Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where they strung up a man they say murdered three_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would they be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."_

The hanging tree.

Tomoe remembered it. The hanging tree. Where she first met him.

_Alone._

_Hadn't she always been so alone?_

_So alone._

_She lived in a village, a village full of people, full of connections, full of friendship. Everyone knew each other there, everyone loved each other there. The village she lived in was not many, but one. _

_So why did she feel so alone? She was surrounded by people, all with smiles on their faces, so why did she feel so alone? She always felt that there was a wall around her, a barrier, blocking her from the rest of the world. Although there were people all around her, she felt as if she was trapped in a vast, desolate world, thousands of kilometers away from the rest of the universe. _

_Every day, she would see people turn away from her, walk away from her, leave her alone. Every day, no one spoke to her, no one at all. She spent her days watching people from afar, always from afar. For if she tried to approach them, they would leave, walk away before she could even say "hello". _

_Why?_

_Why was she so alone?_

_Why did everyone ignore her?_

_She knew why, she knew exactly why. She knew that they would point and laugh at her behind her back, spread rumors of her while her head was turned. The poison sacs of the village had began to work against her, spreading their hatred of her through the whole village, spreading it like venom. And now everyone thought that she was strange, someone different, one that should be avoided. _

_She walked slowly, with her head down, staring at the dirt beneath her feet. Around her, children laughed as they chased each other around, playing. But she didn't hear them, for all she heard was the silence of loneliness. In a corner of her heart, she felt longing for their happiness, for their laughter. Deep in her heart, she wanted to join them, to laugh with them and let her worries fade away in the wind. But she knew that they would reject her, leave as soon as she approached, as they found her strange, different. She knew that they would just run away, and she would be alone once more. _

_Alone._

_Ahead of her, the road to the forest stretched. It twisted and winded around a few straggly trees, then vanished into the darkness of the forest, swallowed by the trees. She started on the path, walking into the forest, walking away from the village that had ostracized her for all her life. The forest ahead of her seemed to be full of shadows, but she could see the sunbeams dancing between the trees. The forest had been avoided too, thought to be shadowy and dark, but she could see that it was actually full of light and sunbeams, a lighthearted place full of life. _

_She looked down, and saw a puppy. It sat cold, shivering, probably abandoned. She reached down to pet it, thinking that she could bring it home and feed it. But the puppy's hollow eyes widened, and it scampered out of her reach and ran away from her, vanishing into the shadows. She felt a pang of sorrow, and a tear slid from her eye, running down her cheek. Truly she was alone. No one, not even a dog, no one wanted to be near her. She didn't understand why. Why did everyone avoid her so? Why didn't anyone, anyone, anyone want to come near her? Why? More tears fell, twin rivulets of silver running down her face, and she ran, unable to take it anymore. _

_She ran. _

_Ran from it all. All her sorrow, all her loneliness, all her despair. She ran from it all, unable to hold it in her soul any longer. She ran down the path, tears falling from her eyes, hollowness burning in her chest. _I just can't take it anymore!

_Soon, she was swallowed by the forest. _

_Branches snagged at her kimono, threatening to rip it. Her feet caught on roots, and she stumbled, but kept running. The obstacles in the forest was nothing compared to the pain in her heart, the pain of being left alone, and she ran harder, harder, trying to shake of the sorrow gnawing at her soul._

_Then she stopped. _

_She burst into a clearing and sat down hard, unable to go on. The grass tickled her nose with is fresh scent, and she brushed it away with a wet hand, wet with her tears. The loneliness caught up now, and hollowness filled her heart, hollowness echoing with sadness. The sky above her head was covered in clouds now, and the sunbeams she had seen were all gone. The sky was gray, all gray, just like her soul._

_There was a tree in the middle of the clearing, and she saw ropes tied to its branches. Nooses, she saw. Tied to the tree's branches were nooses. _This is the hanging tree,_ she realized. _The hanging tree.

_She remembered hearing the elders of the village discussing it. It was where criminals were hung, executed. Eventually, the body would be taken away, but the noose would remain tied to the branch. Now, she could see thousands of nooses tied to the branches, each a sign of a life ended. _

_Suddenly, she heard a branch snap, and froze. Fear rose in her throat, and it spread its icy fingers into her heart, locking her body in place. Rumors of strange things, supernatural things, haunting things occurring here, they whirled around her mind. Images of horror, ghosts, and unexplained deaths popped into her head, and she felt the fear solidify into terror. She was going to die, she just knew it._

_Then she heard his voice. _

_'What are you doing here?"_

_Slowly, she turned around and saw him. He was a boy around her age, but with flaming red hair and gentle purple eyes, ones that shone with kindness._

_She managed to find her voice. "You- you don't want to avoid me?"_

_He looked confused. "Why would I?" Her eyes widened._

_Maybe she wasn't alone after all._

_Suddenly, she found herself crying again, crying out her story. She found herself speaking in short bursts, relating of how everyone in her village avoided her, left her alone, so alone. She spoke of how she had no friends, how everyone thought that she was strange, weird, different. She spoke of the loneliness in her heart, of the hollowness in her soul, echoing with grief. And he listened, with sympathy in his eyes, and when she finished, he smiled._

_"Then let me be your first friend."_

_Above, a sunbeam pierced the layer of clouds and fell towards earth, bringing hope and light. It landed on her tearstained face, light as a silken butterfly, and her face was lit up with the sun's rays and hope. _

_"What's your name?" he asked._

_"Tomoe" She whispered. _

_"I'm Kenshin."_

_And in that moment, she knew that no matter how dark the sky seemed now, the sun would rise. _

No matter how dark the sky seems now

The sun will rise.

Now, Tomoe felt hope again, fleeting and small, but bringing light into the cold in her soul. It warmed her cold feet, and she stood, letting the new warmth spread through her body. Above, the clouds shifted and the sun peered through cautiously. Pale light seeped into the snowy world below, and the fallen snow glittered with a new hope. Perhaps all was not lost. Perhaps Kenshin was not gone forever.

The wind began to sing, softly:_ "Are you, are you, coming to the tree…."_

Tomoe began to walk towards the hanging tree, where they had net so many years ago. Pale light from the sun fell upon her again, just like it had when they had first met. Once again, her face was lit up with hope, hope of finding Kenshin, hope of reclaiming him from their grasp. Although snow still fell all around her, the cold no longer reached her. The wind still blew snowflakes into her face, but she just brushed them aside. Kenshin was at the hanging tree. He was not lost. All was not lost.

The broken wind sang the rest of its song hollowly, whispering:

_"….where they strung up a man they say murdered three….." _


End file.
